Valve's Steam Service Continues to Thrive

With many sales occurring throughout the year, including some of the most exciting such as the Steam Autumn Sale and Holiday Sale, Steam continues to see much growth. Steam was able to end the year with a peak user count of 7.6 million. This large peak in users was enabled by multiple titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Team Fortress 2. More users are flocking to Steam not just for the video game deals offered all year round however. Valve implemented a new badge system within its Holiday Sale that allows users to trade their badges in up until January 3, 2014. These badges are earned by spending money, performing trades with other Steam users, and voting for community flash sales.